As the current president for Dalhousie University’s Associated Alumni, I had the great fortune of emcee-ing a night of celebration for Doctor Norman Horrocks who recently became a successful nominee for the top honor for Canadian civilians — the Order of Canada. The event was very well attended (no surprise) and this was my first emcee ever, so I was more nervous than usual. I think I came out unscathed.
Anyone who knows “Norman” knows that there is no more deserving person on earth. Just look at the man’s CV (ie. click on “Doctor Norman Horrocks” above). Madeleine Lefevbre did a wonderful speech in his honor, citing The Tipping Point to describe Norman as a “Connector.” That’s basically right. Gladwell’s description of connectors are precisely Norman-ish. He knows folks and brings people to people better than anyone I know (besides my wife).
I definitely have to speak of Norman’s generosity as well. I won’t go into details, but Norman’s generosity has touched me more than once and I will be forever in his debt. There were lots of folks who would have been more worthy to emcee this event, and I feel like I had a leprechan in my pocket to get this honor.
There was a lovely basket made of goodies appropriate for a good Lancastrian. The only thing missing was the fish and chips! I said in passing that I would take him to John’s Lunch (which is a chip shop near me) to make up for it.
But another show of what is important to Norman, is how he closed everything up quickly to ensure that student and alumni had plenty of time to network. He is definitely not the sort to let any shy new librarian get out of networking at these events. Be a wallflower at your peril!
Overall, I think everything went off very well and I have to thank all the organizations who helped out, including APLA, CASLIS, SIMSA, MHLA, HLA, Dalhousie University Libraries, and of course, the school itself. The Dalhousie Student Chapters of SLA and CLA were also nice enough to volunteer to help with the tables. Nothing like a team of partners to make our team look good. Thanks for all that.
But most of all, congrats Norman and I am definitely serious about the fish and chips.
Punctuated Equilibrium: A Librarian's View of Public Policy 